Modern politics can't seem to bridge infrastructure gap

We've heard a great deal about the George Washington Bridge, thanks to the Chris Christie administration and its politics. There is a lesser-known bridge that is getting attention for political reasons as well, this one tucked away in the Midwest, crossing the Ohio River. The Brent Spence Bridge carries across its span an estimated four percent of the nation's gross national product. It links points north and south in a funnel of traffic along Interstate Highways 71 and 75.

Cincinnati, Ohio, sits at the northern end of the bridge. Founded in the late 18th century, Cincinnati is one of the first cities settled west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was named after the 5th century B.C.E. Roman General Cincinnatus, considered a model of civic virtue, who willingly laid down his power as a Roman dictator after defeating rival tribes, before returning to his farm. The city of Cincinnati aspired to a similar goal of civic virtue. Cincinnati was in fact a gateway to the still unexplored west during the era when rivers were the main traffic arteries of the nation. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth, its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted."

Before the Civil War, the so-called underground railroad allowed slaves to escape to freedom once they crossed the northern banks of the Ohio River. Some old homes in the area still boast secret rooms and passages that facilitated the escape of slaves to freedom. A museum commemorates this history, and is worth a visit if anyone is visiting the Cincinnati area. Culturally, in part because of its history, the gap between Ohio and Kentucky is even broader than the river. "It's not a river, it's an ocean," commented a local resident regarding the debate about how to replace the Brent Spence Bridge.

Resentments fester from centuries of conflict between north and south and big-city versus small-town interests. The city of Cincinnati tends to overwhelm the smaller communities across the river that include Fort Mitchell, Dayton, Newport and Covington, Ky. Oddly, the Ohio River is owned almost entirely by Kentucky. These boundaries were set by the colonial charter of Virginia, which defined its territory as extending to the north shore of the Ohio. Congress designated the entire river as belonging to the states to the south and east of the river, West Virginia and Kentucky, which had been divided off from Virginia at the time of admission to the Union. As a result, Kentucky now bears the burden for any bridge construction or improvement. Decisions about these matters rest with the Kentucky state legislature rather than the Ohio.

The Brent Spence Bridge is falling down. No one argues this point. The nation will suffer economically if this reconstruction is not completed before a disaster forces the bridge to close entirely. This is where politics come in. It seems that businesses in the small communities that comprise the Kentucky side of the bridge are adamantly opposed to tolls. Heads would roll in the Kentucky assembly if any measure that included tolls were to pass in the state legislature. The Republican-held Kentucky legislature has recently voted in both houses to block any plans for a bridge that would include tolls. The bill now sits on the Republican governor's desk. Interestingly, he is reluctant to sign it.

Kentucky businesses and their legislative representatives claim that any work on the bridge should be accomplished by the federal government, at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion, since this particular bridge is so vital to the national economy. The problem is that Congress is out of funds to support a project of this size. The Highway Trust Fund gets its funding primarily from taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. These have not been raised since 1993. In fact, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has said the fund is "on track to bounce checks" as early as August. ("Congress won't ride to rescue on bridge," Deirdre Shesgreen, The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 31.)

Needless to say, the Kentucky legislature has no money for such a project. They are still recovering from an unexpectedly harsh winter and can barely find money for salt for the roads, much less make a multi-billion-dollar bridge investment. The only answer is to fund the project through tolls. This solution has worked in Louisville, Ky., just downriver from Cincinnati, which recently completed a bridge between that city and Jeffersonville, Ind. This is the solution that many states have resorted to, including the famous George Washington Bridge and California's Golden Gate Bridge. In a Republican-controlled economy that refuses to increase revenue through taxation, this seems to be the only possible solution. Despite this, any plans to replace the bridge seem to have been placed on indefinite hold.

Driving into Cincinnati recently from the airport, which happens to be located in Kentucky, my stepmother commented about the advisability of using the bridge at all, despite the lack of convenient alternatives. Something will have to give in this discussion, since far more than mere convenience is at stake, not only for residents of the region, but for the nation as a whole.

The Rev. Eric Duff is an Episcopal priest and licensed clinical social worker who writes this column for the Times-Standard. He has a psychotherapy practice in McKinleyville. He can be reached at eric6017@suddenlink.net.